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By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Staff
When Westwood’s Cameron Clasby started brainstorming for his Eagle Scout Service Project, his mind took him back to a fishing trip with some friends.
“I realized there was a need for this project when I was fishing with friends at Buckmaster Pond,” wrote Clasby in an email to Hometown Weekly. “I observed a large amount of trash and debris washed up on shore, despite the fact that [the Pond] is cleaned every year during Earth Day week. I have personally cleaned this area with Boy Scouts in the past.”
Still, something didn’t seem right to Clasby, who figured the trash alone could not be blamed for the state of Buckmaster Pond’s water. “I didn’t think that it could just be that trash causing all the pollution and tainting the water,” he said. “I found out that the many storm drains in the area drain into Buckmaster Pond, as well as other streams and brooks and small ponds.” At the same time, he noticed that the markers that had once adorned the town’s storm drains were gone, removed when the town repaved the roads.
It was a realization that begat concrete action as he moved to replace the markers and clean up Westwood’s water.
“My project involved marking 400 storm drains in and around Westwood ponds and streams with either a plastic medallion that says ‘Do not Pollute, Drains to Pond’ or a painted-on marking that states ‘Drains to Stream, Keep it Clean,’” explained Clasby. “I researched and discovered drain marker medallions that are designed to be glued to the curb above a storm drain marker. These last 15 years as opposed to the spray paint ones, which only last three to five years. My plan was approved. I hosted a car wash in October to raise funds to purchase the medallions and other materials and supplies.”
The success of the car wash allowed Clasby to buy 200 medallions - double his initial goal. This, of course, was in addition to another 200 markers that he and his team would spray-paint on the curb.
“With the help of family, friends and fellow Scouts, we started installing the medallions in late June and finished up with the painted on markings at the end of August,” said Clasby, who also added that the process was not as straightforward as it might seem. In addition to the physically laborious task of visiting and marking 400 different storm drains, there were also other wrinkles - clogged spray-paint stencils, paint that had a nasty habit of being either too faded or blurry, and glue that initially was difficult to apply in the correct proportions, for example - that made the project difficult.
Despite those difficulties, after 98 service hours logged and 400 finished storm drain markers, the project was complete - not to mention a complete success.
With it, hopes Clasby, will come a greater community awareness of storm drain pollution. “It was overall an enjoyable experience as well as definitely a learning experience,” he said. “I hope that the medallions and spray paint will [encourage] people to think twice before dumping trash in the storm drains, as they lead to our local waterways.”
